Hale Irwin shot a 10-under 62 and took a three-stroke lead over Tom Kite and Brad Bryant after the second round of the Champions Tour's season-opening MasterCard Championship on Saturday.
The 61-year-old Irwin, coming off his first winless season in 12 years, had 10 birdies in his bogey-free round for a 16-under 128 total.
He just missed shooting his age when a 4m birdie putt on No. 18 came up just short and to the right. Irwin hunched over, flipping his cap backward.
PHOTO: AP
"I can still do this," he said. "It's not like I've lost it and it's gone. It's back. Just what will I do with it now?"
Kite shot a 64 and Bryant, the first-round leader, had a 68. Jim Thorpe had a 63 to join defending champion Loren Roberts (67) at 12 under.
Allen Doyle (67), Jerry Pate (67) and Ben Crenshaw (68) were 11 under.
Irwin, who has a record 44 wins on the Champions Tour, is seeking his first win since the 2005 SAS Championship.
He missed winning last year for the first time since joining the Champions Tour in 1995.
"I just probably lost a step here and half a step there and that's all it takes," he said.
"All in all, it wasn't a terrible year, but I just didn't play the kind of golf I'm capable of playing, which I've shown the last two days," he said.
Irwin has been working out more and trying to fix the kinks in his game.
He birdied four straight holes twice, once each on the front and back nines.
His tap-in birdie on the par-4 15th, gave him his first lead at 15 under.
Irwin has owned Hawaii like no other golfer, winning eight times on the senior tour including the 1997 MasterCard and the 1981 Hawaiian Open on the US PGA Tour. He has US$3.9 million in winnings, including unofficial money, in the state.
Irwin said he would need to stay aggressive and probably needed a 65 or 66 to force his rivals to shoot an amazing round yesterday to win.
"If you just try to sit on a lead, you'll probably end up doing what I did on the last hole," he said. "You get too careful. You'll get too anxious and not succeed."
Kite had seven birdies and made a 13m eagle putt on the par-5 10th.
His only mistake was a bogey on the par-3 17th when his 8-iron fell short of the green and he missed a 1.5m putt for par.
Kite said he realizes Irwin is hungry for a win.
"He's not the only one hungry, though," he said. "It's going to take some good golf tomorrow to catch Hale."
Irwin is almost unbeatable when he leads or share the lead heading into Sunday, winning 29 of 40 times.
With a cigar in mouth and a brand new Callaway putter in hand, Thorpe had a personal-best 22 putts in a round that included seven birdies and an eagle on the 550m 10th, the longest hole at Hualalai.
His four birdie putts on the final six holes were all within 1.5m.
"I found a way to keep your putting strokes low -- miss more greens," he said.
"It builds your confidence when you make those short putts. So if things don't good tomorrow, I might just miss a green on purpose and chip it and go up-and-down to get some confidence," he said.
Only Gil Morgan (73) and Bob Gilder (77) shot over par during the round on Saturday.
"How would you like to shoot a 13-under par and be three behind?" Irwin asked.
A day after celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary, 71-year-old Gary Player was 6 under after his second 69, again beating his age by two strokes.
Player moved into contention at 9 under with a birdie on the par-4 16th, but triple-bogeyed No. 18 after hooking his drive and dropping his approach in the sand.
"Anytime you end up with a 7, it's a lousy bit of medicine," he said.
"I got a little greedy. I tried to hit it hard and hooked it around the corner and I just hit a terrible shot," he said.
The Hall of Famer is one of four invited players at Hualalai, along with Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd and Lanny Wadkins.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care